Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-16
IELTS Writing Task 1 question
The diagram below shows the manufacturing process for making sugar from sugar cane.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
How sugar is produced from sugar cane
Student answer (Band 5.5)
The process illustrates the steps involved in the manufacturing of a sugar from sugar cane.
Overall, it can be seen that the process of sugar is a complex process involving many steps. The process begin with the growing sugar cane and ends with the drying and cooling process of sugar.
In the first stage of the process, 12 to 18 month grown sugar canes harvested by hand and machine as well, then put into the crushing machine where it produces the juice by squeezing. Next, juice pass through the limestone filter where it purifyed gradually. Aftrewards, purified juice get heated in container then it evaporated then juice became a liquid syrup.
In the next step, syrup in the centrifuge device, which spins the syrup at high speed to seprate the sugar crystals from syrup by using centrifugal force. After this, sugar crystals were collected in container to dry and reduce the temprarture.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by outlining the main stages of the sugar manufacturing process from sugar cane to the final product. An overview is provided, noting that it is a complex linear process beginning with growing and ending with drying and cooling. Key features are reported, such as the two harvesting methods (hand and machine), crushing, purification via a limestone filter, evaporation, and separation using a centrifuge. However, the details are slightly brief and certain transitions between steps could be extended to reach a higher band level. Nevertheless, the progression of the process is clearly represented overall, earning a solid Band 6.5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is arranged logically into four paragraphs: an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs detailing the sequential steps. Cohesive devices such as 'In the first stage', 'Next', and 'In the next step' are employed to guide the reader through the flowchart. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the initial agricultural and processing stages from the later refinement steps. However, referencing and cohesive links are at times mechanical or slightly repetitive. Progression is clear overall, but smoother integration of clauses would elevate the coherence further. This aligns well with the Band 6 descriptors.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range suitable for describing a process, using terms like 'manufacturing', 'crushing machine', 'limestone filter', 'evaporated', and 'centrifugal force'. However, there are notable word-choice and spelling inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'purifyed' instead of 'purified', 'Aftrewards' instead of 'Afterwards', 'temprarture' instead of 'temperature', and 'seprate' instead of 'separate'. Additionally, phrases like 'the process of sugar is a complex process' show repetition. While these lexical errors and minor misspellings do not impede overall communication, they prevent the score from reaching a higher band, making Band 6 appropriate.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response includes a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses ('which spins the syrup') and prepositional phrases. However, there are frequent grammatical errors and omissions, particularly with articles, subject-verb agreement, and tense consistency. For instance, the student writes 'The process begin with' instead of 'begins', 'sugar canes harvested by hand' missing the passive auxiliary 'are', and 'juice pass' instead of 'passes'. Preposition and article slips also occur, such as 'in container' instead of 'in a container'. Although communication is rarely impeded, the frequency of basic errors limits the grade to a Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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